Within the scope of the criminal case launched against the “Formula” television company, a third employee of the channel, camera operator Misho Martashvili, was also summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia for questioning.
Following his questioning, the host of Shabatis Formula told Media Checker that by interviewing the camera operator, the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office had concluded its questioning of everyone who could potentially provide any kind of information to the investigation.
As a reminder, on June 16, 2026, the Investigative Division of the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal case against Formula TV under Article 373, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to false denunciation (false accusation). The investigation was initiated based on a statement filed by Goga Khaindrava, a film director and supporter of the “Georgian Dream” party. He accuses “Formula” of falsely implicating him in a potential crime. The case concerns reports broadcast on Shabatis Formula on December 20, 2025, and January 17, 2026. According to the source in these reports, Goga Khaindrava was bringing foreign citizens into Georgia in exchange for money. Reportedly, the Prosecutor’s Office is disputing the false denunciation against Formula’s source.
Within the scope of the same case, the author and host of the program, Davit Kashiashvili, and the journalist who authored the report, Natuka Lomidze, have already been questioned at the Prosecutor’s Office.
Due to the same reports, Goga Khaindrava also has an ongoing civil dispute against “Formula.” He is suing the television company for defamation and is demanding 10,000 GEL in compensation for moral damages.
Within the scope of the criminal case launched against the “Formula” television company, another journalist from the channel and author of the report, Natuka Lomadze, was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia. The journalist’s questioning lasted for three hours.
“The investigator was interested in how I, as a journalist, worked on this report. Who were the people with whom I attempted to verify the information our source was telling us? Of course, there were many such people,” the journalist told Media Checker.
On June 16, 2026, the Investigative Division of the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office launched a criminal case against Formula TV under Article 373, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to false denunciation (false accusation). The investigation was initiated based on a statement filed by Goga Khaindrava, a film director and supporter of the “Georgian Dream” party. He accuses “Formula” of falsely implicating him in a potential crime. The case concerns reports broadcast on the show Shabatis Formula (Saturday’s Formula) on December 20, 2025, and January 17, 2026. According to the source in these reports, Goga Khaindrava was bringing foreign citizens into Georgia in exchange for money. Reportedly, the Prosecutor’s Office is disputing the false denunciation against Formula’s source.
Within the scope of the same case, the author and host of the program, Davit Kashiashvili, was also questioned at the Prosecutor’s Office.
Due to the same reports, Goga Khaindrava also has an ongoing civil dispute against “Formula.” He is suing the television company for defamation and is demanding 10,000 GEL in compensation for moral damages.
The Prosecutor’s Office has summoned “Formula” TV journalist and presenter Davit Kashiashvili for questioning. His summons is connected to a criminal case initiated against “Formula.”
On June 16, 2026, the Investigative Division of the Tbilisi Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into an alleged case of false accusation. The case is being investigated under Article 373, Part 1 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. The investigation was triggered by a statement from the lawyers representing film director Giorgi (Goga) Khaindrava, a supporter of “Georgian Dream,” regarding the alleged commission of a crime against Khaindrava by “Formula” TV.
According to reports, the Prosecutor’s Office is alleging a false accusation made by “Formula’s” source.
Journalists Giorgi Akhalkatsi (Kartlis Ambebi) and Lado Bichashvili (TV Company Formula), who filmed an incident of police violence against a citizen in Gori, Shida Kartli, were summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning. The journalists spent several hours at the investigative agency.
On May 27, in the Kombinati settlement of Gori, up to ten police officers brutally assaulted two local citizens during an arrest. The journalists filmed the footage of the beating from the window of a residential building, having witnessed the incident purely by chance. The circulation of the video material on public networks triggered a significant public outcry, forcing the law enforcement agency to launch an investigation into the incident.
The Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation under the article of alleged abuse of official power involving violence by police officers. On May 28, it was announced that six law enforcement officers had been arrested in connection with the incident.
The Prosecutor’s Office has summoned Eliso Jariashvili, a journalist and TV host for the television network Formula, for questioning. As the journalist explained, the investigative agency requested her questioning following a report she aired on Formula. Specifically, Jariashvili had prepared an investigative report regarding an assault on journalist Guram Rogava, which took place during the mass protests in November 2024. As it is known, Formula reportedly uncovered the identity of the attacker. According to the online publication Netgazeti, the network states that the identity of Guram Rogava’s attacker was revealed by an employee of the Special Tasks Department.
According to Eliso Jariashvili: “Even though there is no legal necessity for this – since they already know the identity of Guram Rogava’s alleged attacker and can proceed with investigative actions anyway” – she still intends to go to the investigative agency.
On November 29, 2024, a masked law enforcement officer assaulted journalist Guram Rogava during a live broadcast. Rogava was officially recognized as a victim in 2024, yet the investigation failed to identify the attacker.
Following the airing of Formula’s report, Tbilisi District Court Judge Valerian Bugianishvili ordered pretrial detention as a preventative measure for three former employees of the Special Tasks Department. They were arrested in connection with the physical assault against journalist Guram Rogava and protester Zviad Maisashvili. One of the detainees is a current employee of the Security Police. They are being charged with physical violence committed against Rogava and protester Zviad Maisashvili.
On May 6, journalist Guram Rogava was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office for questioning.
“Tomorrow, at 12:00 PM Tbilisi time, I will be questioned,” Guram Rogava wrote on social media.
The Prosecutor’s Office also summoned Eliso Jariashvili, a journalist and TV host for the television network Formula, for questioning. As the journalist explained, the investigative agency requested her questioning following a report she aired on Formula. Specifically, Jariashvili had prepared an investigative report regarding the assault on journalist Guram Rogava, which took place during the mass protests in November 2024. Formula reportedly uncovered the identity of the attacker. According to the online publication Netgazeti, the network states that the identity of Rogava’s attacker was revealed by an employee of the Special Tasks Department.
On November 29, 2024, a masked law enforcement officer assaulted Guram Rogava while he was covering the protest live on air.
Guram Rogava was officially recognized as a victim shortly after, yet the investigation failed to identify the attacker.
Following the airing of Formula’s report, Tbilisi District Court Judge Valerian Bugianishvili ordered pretrial detention as a preventative measure for three former employees of the Special Tasks Department. One of the detainees is a current employee of the Security Police. They are being charged with physical violence committed against Rogava and protester Zviad Maisashvili.
On June 23, 2023, in Tbilisi, poet and activist Zviad Ratiani was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer. The arrest was witnessed by Nino Kodalashvili, a journalist from the TV company Kavkasia, who filmed the arrest using her personal mobile phone—something law enforcement officers also noticed.
Later, the police attempted to take Nino Kodalashvili to the police station for questioning as a witness and to examine her personal mobile phone. The director of Kavkasia, Nino Jangirashvili, was also present at the scene. She refused to allow the police to take the journalist or access her phone without following the appropriate legal procedures (such as an official notice). According to Jangirashvili, other activists also arrived at the location. As a result of the protest, the police reversed their decision to take the journalist in.
The interaction between the police and the journalists was streamed live on social media.
